I should know by now that when things seem really lost in life, it really is just a chance to be open to new things. Like grief, you never forget what happened, but constantly moving forward does keep life exciting.
It was a slow and painful process after my husband's death to feel that anything would be exciting! The breakthrough came when I just knew one day that I really was on my own, that nothing could change that, or ever would. I decided to embrace life, to celebrate it, because who knows when it comes to an end? |
Of course I love them all, but basket makers even celebrate plants that others consider weeds, like willows in a ditch, vines, and invasive grasses and rushes. I have used them all, with a certain meditative excitement and absorption that simply never leaves.
My little berry basket was made under the watchful and kind eyes of a Sechelt North American Indian woman. Every bit of it is made of red cedar bark strips. As I worked with it, and as I look at it now, I am aware that collecting and preparing these materials is a labour of love and determination to uphold the values of tradition, beauty and usefulness around us. This is something I have carried with me from childhood, growing up in a small Zulu village with expert grass basket makers.
So what does this have to do with loss, you may ask? Everything.
Carrying on after loss is a process of self discovery
4 steps to finding out about the you that you might have forgotten.
It's important to realize that you can only think about these when it seems to be the right time for you.
- It is about using the terrible loss that life has handed you as a catalyst; deciding that you will go on to do some amazing things that are creative, and meaningful.
- It is about taking something that appears to be simple, and learning to understand the complexities of it. It is about celebrating what life has brought to you in knowledge, and using it to go forward in a meaningful way.
- It is about recognizing your own talents and developing them for your enjoyment and being of service to family and friends. Making a little berry basket is about understanding that all people have suffered loss in some form during their lives. To lose your culture and your language must be devastating. It is always up to the survivors to carry on patiently and optimistically, teaching and giving to others.
- It is about opening those windows that have not been opened before. Maybe you never knew they were there. Perhaps over the years they had stuck, because they weren't used.
This is an exciting time. It's a question of how you decide to use it. When will you be willing to start weaving the memories and threads into something remarkable?
Just some thoughts for the day.